The Influence of the West in American Civil War.docVIP

The Influence of the West in American Civil War 　　【Abstract】After the 19th century， the West was no longer an appendage of the South and the North. During the Civil War， the North had superiority in both economy and politics. This owed much to the West. The share of the same labour system laid the foundation of the union between the North and the West. The victory of the North linked closely to the support of the West. The essay analyzed the contribution made by the West from the perspectives of economy and politics. 　　【Key words】the Civil War; the West; influence 　　During a long period in American history， the West existed as an appendage of the South at first and latter of the North. After 19th century the West came to possess her own particularity. The South， the North and the West have formed a triangle relation. 　　Before the year 1820 the contradictions between the South and the North have not been sharpened. However， the West ― this free land， caused conflict between the South and the North. Once half of the twenty-two states in America were the free states. In 1820， the Missouri would join the Federation. Whether the Missouri would join the Federation as a state with slavery or without would break the balance of politics. So the most acute conflict between these two sides was the contest of the Western land， and in the process of the western expansion， many new states were established from 1820. On April 12th 1861， the Civil War broke out. Although the battles were between the North and the South， the West has played a decisive part in the war. Strictly speaking， the war was broken out in the condition that the North was in the superior position on both economy and politics. It should be pointed out that a large proportion of the superiority of the North belonged to the West. Why？ The most important reason was the realization of “union” in economy between the North and the West. And on this foundation they formed the alliance in politics. 　　Economy：